What was so shameful about George Foreman and the Toronto Five?

Am I the only person here who grew up a little late? I’d say I was pretty damn immature in my early and mid 20s. Can’t say I really became mature and settled until my mid 30s.

mix general immaturity with a meteoric rise and then a quick fall, it’s not that hard to see why he got messed up.

 

No. I'm 42 and have a daughter, and yet I have a boyish sense of humour, still make yo mama type jokes and am not entirely certain what I want to do when I eventually grow up.

 

George didn’t do anything wrong, Ali showed his ass.

 

There would have been nothing wrong with this if it had just been a regular exhibition - a public sparring session with five salaried employees and no expectation of any real violence, but Foreman tried to make it into something more than that. He wanted it to be a heroic spectacle - one man against five, battling the odds. The original plan was for five genuine, competitive contests all on one night. The Toronto commission put a stop to that, insisting it be listed as an exhibition, but Foreman was still talking about it like it was a real fight, telling his opponents to be prepared to get hurt and claiming he would retire if any of the five managed to beat him.

 

Nothing to be ashamed about on Foreman's behalf.
And really, what was seen as a confidence rebuilding
process for Foreman actually may have had the opposite
effect on him.
Especially with Ali (Of all the pro heavy's in the world)
allowed to be at ringside, and clowning him.
My opinion Foreman's managing team should've seen
that coming and not have Ali with in five hundred feet
of the ring if there was anything they could do about it,
They should've known the spotlight would be on Ali,
and he'd turn into a media circus.
It's exactly what happened.

 

Would have been a ton better if ABC was not the broadcaster. Imagine nbc or cbs covering the event & it would be looked at a lot different today.

 

Foreman vs Toronto was not shameful as Foreman was able to beat 5 opponents in one night. Ali vs Inoki was shameful. I was given free tickets to watch Inkoi vs Ali in Orlando by Edgar "Mad Dog" Ross who was Ranked #2 by Ring Magazine in the Jr. Middleweight Division at the time as he did not want to watch it and I almost walked out myself as it was so bad. Foreman's exibition was much more legit and entertaining.

 

A "Mad Dog Ross" mention is always a good thing in any thread, Sir., btw. Wish he would've got the title shot he was promised.

If Foreman had gone out and decimated these guys full speed- and a prime Foreman who the people were used to bouncing people like Frazier and Norton off the canvas should not have have been struggling with the Terry Daniels and Charlie Polite's of the world, then it would have been seen differently. He could have shut Ali up by splattering these guys but instead he looked tired, slow and these guys started both stealing the show by either clowning him at times or showing underdog "Rocky" like heart by making mini comebacks on him.

I wish he would've gone out and fought them instead of sloppy sparring as it would've been remembered differently. Nothing about it came off as impressive for Big George.

 

That has all to do with public perception.

Back in the 70s Foreman was perceived as the big bad "villain" as opposed to Ali, the 'hero". Since he was portrayed as a thug up to no good, George was criticized just for walking the street.

In all honesty lets say 70s Foreman relished and cultivated his thuggish image.

But public perceptions are very volatile.

Fast forward 20 years and Big George became so beloved that he could have fought nuns barehand and people would cheer him.